Frank Aiken

Frank Aiken (13 February 1898-18 May 1983) was Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) of Ireland from 21 April 1965 to 2 July 1969, succeeding Sean MacEntee and preceding Erskine H. Childers. Aiken was one of the founders of the conservative Fianna Fail party, and he was the longest-serving Irish Teachta Dala (MP), serving from 1927 to 1969.

Biography
Frank Aiken was born in Camlough, County Armagh, Northern Ireland on 13 February 1898 to a Catholic Irish family. Aiken joined the Irish Republican Brotherhood in 1914 and joined Sinn Fein in 1917, founding a branch of the group in his hometown. Aiken led the 4th Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence against the United Kingdom from 1919 to 1921, and he led the IRA in Ulster, launching attacks on the Royal Irish Constabulary and Protestant Ulster Scots. Aiken remained neutral during the Irish Civil War, although he was personally inclined to support the anti-treaty republicans. In 1927, he was elected to the Dail Eirann as a Fianna Fail politician, having helped to found the party. He served in this post for decades, and he also served as Minister for External Affairs from 1951 to 1954 and from 1957 to 1969 and as Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) from 1956 to 1969. He died in 1969 at the age of 85.